David S. Wilson

David S. Wilson
David Wilson at a committee hearing in 2018
Member of the Alaska Senate
Assumed office
January 17, 2017
Preceded byCharlie Huggins
ConstituencyD (2017-23)
N (since 2023)
Personal details
Born
David Sylvester Wilson

1981 (age 42–43)
California
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAleta
ResidenceWasilla, Alaska
Alma materAlaska Pacific University

David Sylvester Wilson (born 1981) is an American politician from Alaska. A Republican, Wilson has represented Wasilla in the Alaska Senate since 2017. He formerly served as a city councilman in Wasilla.[1]

Wilson was elected to the Senate at the age of 35. He narrowly defeated Representative Lynn Gattis in the Republican primary to succeed longtime Senator Charlie Huggins, who was retiring, in August 2016. He was endorsed in his campaign by the conservative Republican Assembly but did not run with the backing of the Alaska Republican Party. He was previously an unaffiliated voter, registering with the Republican Party less than a year before his primary victory.[1]

Upon being sworn in on January 17, 2017, Wilson became the first African-American elected to the Senate from Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley,[2] Wilson is the eighth African-American to serve in the Alaska Legislature. Of those eight, he is the third Republican, the second senator, the first Republican senator and the first to represent an area of Alaska outside of Anchorage or Fairbanks.

  1. ^ a b Lockyer, Ellen (August 18, 2016). "Wilson upsets Gattis for state Senate seat". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  2. ^ Hollander, Zaz (September 27, 2016). "After upset victory in Senate primary, Wasilla councilman still needs to win over some Mat-Su Republicans". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved January 17, 2017.